Current methods of recouping the value of tangible depreciating items such as computers and electronic devices have limitations. Customers currently buy these items, and subsequently want to recoup value from the items when they are done with them. One reason they might be done with a tangible depreciating item is that they want to upgrade to a new item of the same or similar type. This process can be expensive, fraught with uncertainty, and full of hassles.
If the customer does not sell their old item, but rather disposes of it in a manner that does not provide monetary value, then the upgrade process is seen as expensive. Some customers try to sell their items on a secondary market and use the value recouped from the old item to bring down the cost of their purchase of the new item. However, prices received on secondary markets for used tangible depreciating items are difficult to predict, and selling items on a secondary market can entail a lot of work that many people would like to avoid.
Current solutions to these problems include trade-in programs, which take some of the work out of recouping the value from an item when a person is ready to upgrade. However, such a solution does not inform the person of the future trade-in value at the time the item is originally sold to the person. Customers desire more certainty in the future trade-in value of their items to understand their total cost of ownership for the item over various periods, and minimize that total cost of ownership through item selection.
Currently there is no solution for locking in the future resale value of tangible depreciating items, which would involve selling a put option or forward contract where the underlying asset is a tangible depreciating item. Exchange traded options and forwards are sold for underlying assets that are either non-tangible or do not depreciate, even though their prices may fluctuate. Pricing these options and forwards does not involve some key processes that are necessary for pricing options on tangible depreciating items. These key missing processes include predicting the item's future sale price, predicting the rate of option exercise, and accounting for costs related to offering the service.
Given the current demand for upgrading tangible depreciating items more easily, affordably and frequently, and the limitations in the prior approaches, an approach for taking some of the uncertainty out of resale prices for these items is highly desirable. In particular, an approach that allows for the customer to be assured of the future resale value of their depreciating goods at the time of original sale is highly desirable.
There is a further need for an approach for making the return of these items easy for the customer and the provider of the service through shipping and grading processes.
There is yet a further need for an approach for making the upgrade process for tangible depreciating items more convenient and flexible to consumers than conventional approaches.
There is a yet further need for an approach for aiding customers in selection of tangible depreciating items based on the items' future resale values.